Nurture AND Nature: The Impacts of Early Childhood Development and Education on the Workforce

Nurture AND Nature: The Impacts of Early Childhood Development and Education on the Workforce
 
Overview: This session will begin with the basics of neurobiology and the development of the human brain at birth and how we are initially wired (nature). I will then discuss what happens during the first few critical years of life and how the brain develops (or is hindered) by the environment (nuture). I’ll transition to how this impacts a child’s social-emotional growth and academic indicators as a child moves through K-12. At this point, I will share data on how school performance impacts drop-out rates, on-time graduation rates, and chances of court involvement. Lastly, I’ll discuss how those issues impact college and career readiness, which impacts earning potential and the available work force talent pool. I’ll close by sharing several evidence-based solutions for how to break this cycle by investing early in a child’s life to improve the overall community’s work force in the future. My hope is that the attendees walk away understanding that a child’s “wiring” isn’t the only factor in future success and that the environment and experiences a child receives can dramatically alter outcomes. That it is important to invest early by applying what we know about brain development to creating nurturing, experiential environments for children to thrive. That, in doing so, we can create a more vibrant, talented work force; we can reduce real costs to our community; and we build a stronger community fabric with more engaged, active citizens.
 
Objectives:

• Understand how biology and environment affect brain development;
• How that development correlates to a positive or negative success ladder for life;
• The social and economic costs associated with a positive or negative success ladder; and
• Ultimately, the end state is to impress upon the audience the importance of investing in our children as early as possible in order to set our kids up for success (individual) and to achieve the greatest economic and business ROI for our communities success (societal) 

Speaker bio: Prior to serving as the Executive Director of the John & Janice Wyatt Foundation, Matt was the Executive Director for Blue Ridge Habitat for Humanity in Winchester, Virginia from 2016-2019. Before Habitat, Matt served as the Deputy to the President & CEO, as well as the Senior Manager for Volunteer Operations, at Project HOPE from 2007-2015. As a key member of the senior leadership team, Matt managed the global volunteer and international health disaster response program. Prior to Project HOPE, Matt served as an active duty medical operations officer in the US Army from 1995 to 2004. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (pre-med) from the University of Miami, FL in 1994 and his master’s degree in International Affairs from the Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies in Seoul, Republic of Korea in 2006. He also holds a Certificate in Project Management from Cornell University. My undergraduate degree is in biology (as a pre-med major) and I’ve worked in the health field for 17 years. Combining this with my current career focusing on early childhood education and solutions around breaking generational poverty, I feel I am uniquely experienced to offer this lecture on how biology and behavior have causal implications to the future workforce.